Hey Reader,

Happy New Year!

It's been a while since I've written to you.

Normally I try to write every week, but to be honest, I just haven't felt like it.

In fact, I haven't felt like doing much of anything for my business since early December.

This isn't because I'm burnt out or throwing in the towel.

It's because I've finally gotten to a place where I can allow the slow months of the year to be slow, without my frantic panic that it spells doom for my business.

The truth is, when you work in B2B services like me, you're going to have a few slow weeks from mid-December through January.

You could do what I used to do...

📨 Frantically email clients to remind them you exist (and collect OOO responses like Pokemon)

🐝 Keep all the marketing wheels rolling so you don't lose momentum, even though no one is watching

😰 Desperately try to use this time to predict the future and plan for a year that hasn't really started yet

That was my pattern the first few years of my business.

I'm naturally anxious, which is part of why I'm successful. But it also means that slow periods make me a bit crazy, rather than relaxed.

This year, I decided to do it differently.

I didn't worry about sending emails while you all were enjoying the holidays.

I didn't post on LinkedIn or X or Bluesky.

I took my clients seriously when they said they were out of office, and decided I would wait for them to tell me when they were ready to work again.

Instead, I've filled up the last few weeks with stuff that matters to me, exclusive of my business.

For me, this means two things: Travel and creative writing.

In fact, I'm currently writing this email from a remote village in Costa Rica, where I've been for a few weeks working on my memoir and being incredibly lazy.

As a result, I managed to finish the first draft of my manuscript (!!!), I've seen some incredible wildlife, I've spent precious time with friends and family, and I've got a sick tan to boot.

Those things are far better for my business, my heart, and my brain than the echo-marketing I used to do this time of year.

There's a lot of privilege baked into this. I'm at a place in my career where I have the income and security to really take time off. (Not to mention, I'm single and childless, which makes it much easier to pack up and ship off to Central America).

But even before I had the means to travel like this, I could have taken December and January off and it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

The reason I didn't take the time off is because my boss wouldn't let me.

(My boss is me.)

To be a successful freelancer, you have to be a tough boss to yourself sometimes.

You have to do the marketing you don't want to do, slog through the work that feels impossible, put on a smile when dealing with difficult clients or scary situations.

But I have the tendency to overdo it when it comes to my self-bossing ways. I will push myself to market my business and court clients, even when there are no clients to court (because they are all taking time off).

This year, I gave myself permission to just not do anything at all, and aside from occasional passing pangs of dread, it's been an incredibly wise decision.

Maybe you're like me, refusing to give yourself a break this time of year.

If so, then here's your permission. If you've been a busy bee for December and January, it's not too late to take time off.

Relax for the next few weeks, and try not to think about your business, you clients, or your 2025 strategy.

Well... don't think about that for a little bit yet. In a couple weeks, I'll be hosting a 2025 Content Strategy Planning Party.

Perhaps knowing you can attend that with me and get all your planning done in one session, will allow you to take some much-needed time off now.

I hope so. If you do, reply to this email and let me know how you plan to spend your nothing-time.

Until then.

- Liam